VII. Correspondence
Correspondence concerning Hillenbrand's seminary years (dating from 1942-1944), Catholic Action (1940-1955), social concern (1948-1953), the lay apostolate (1957-1960), CFM / YCS / YCW (1941-1976), Hillenbrand's hospital stay in Tulsa (1949-1950), Sacred Heart Parish (1948-1972), the Archdiocese of Chicago (1953-1977), and liturgy (1940-1954); personal correspondence (1924-1970) and general correspondence (1930-1978).
VIII. Odd Sizes
Legal-size and other oversize documents; and Index Cards. Arranged in series that parallel those above.
IX. Later Accessions
Sermons, YCW files, and other Catholic Action material; files conerning teacher training schools for priests; parish files; retreat files; and subject files, dating 1942-1967; also material from labor schools and summer schools of social action for priests; with some parish files and folders of handouts concerning English literature; and notebooks, 1920s-1930s.
X. Printed Material
Printed material, some produced by Hillenbrand but most of it collected by him, having to do with Catholic Action, Sacred Heart Parish, liturgical reform, and his other interests.
Rector of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois, 1936-1944; pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Winnetka, Illinois, 1944-1977; national chaplain of Young Christian Workers, Young Christian Students, and Christian Family Movement, and leading figure in the Liturgical Movement.
Reynold Hillenbrand was born the 19th of July 1904 in St. Michael's parish, Chicago, Illinois. He attended St. Michael's School for 8 years of elementary and 2 years of secondary education; Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago for 3 years of secondary and 1 year of college education; St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein (Chicago Archdiocese) for 2 years of philosophy, 4 years of theology, and 1 year of post-graduate education; and Collegio Candese in Rome for a final post-graduate year. He received four degrees from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary: his B.A. in 1926, his M.A. in 1928, his S.T.L. in 1930, and his S.T.D. in 1931. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago on the 2lst of September 1929 and celebrated his first Mass the next day in St. Michael's Church.
He taught English at Quigley Preparatory Seminary (1932-1933) and served on the Diocesan Mission Board (1933-1936) before his appointment as Rector of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, a position he held from 1936 to 1944. In 1938 he was made a Papal Chamberlain, an honor that was renewed in 1939. From 1944 until his retirement in 1974 he worked as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Winnetka, a northern suburb of Chicago. He was made a Domestic Prelate in 1946. Starting in 1937 he served as Censor Librorum for the Archdiocese and starting in 1963 as a member of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission. From 1940 to 1946 he was Chairman of the Holy Name Lecture Bureau.
In response to papal encyclicals urging Catholic action to promote social justice -- Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII (1891) and Quadraqesimo Anno of Pius XI (1931) -- Hillenbrand organized the Summer School of Social Action for Priests at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in 1938, sponsored and participated in other labor schools in the late 30s and early 40s, served as an arbitrator in labor disputes, and began his life-long association with movements of the specialized lay apostolate -- Young Christian Workers, Young Christian Students, and the Christian Family Movement. He was also concerned with fair housing and the civil rights of racial minorities and participated in the Winnetka, Glencoe, and North Shore Human Relations Committees.
Monsignor Hillenbrand's work with YCW and YCS began in 1939 and with CFM in 1945. From the mid 1940s until the 1970s he served as national chaplain for these organizations. In 1949, on the way back from a YCW meeting in California, he was in an automobile accident that kept him hospitalized in Tulsa for over a year and did permanent damage to his foot.
Hillenbrand was also active in the liturgical movement. In 1941 and 1942 he sponsored a Liturgical Summer School at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary. From 1944 on, Hillenbrand participated in the Liturgical Week and Conference, corresponded with members of the Vernacular Society and promoted liturgical reform.
On the 22nd of May 1979, after 5 years of retirement, Hillenbrand died. The Official Catholic Directory mistakenly listed his brother, Monsignor Frederick Hillenbrand, as having died on this date.
Index :
Hillenbrand, Reynold, 1905-1979. St. Mary of the Lake Seminary. Sacred Heart Church (Winnetka, Ill.) Young Christian Workers. Young Christian Students. Christian Family Movement. Liturgical Movement. Catholic action.